Claus Hjort Frederiksen, a member of Denmark’s Liberal Party who previously served as both defense and finance minister, confirmed last Friday that he has been charged with violating a section of the penal code that includes treason for divulging state secrets.
According to a report from the Danish daily newspaper Berlingske, Frederiksen confirmed the charges leveled against him in a press release published on Friday by the Liberal Party—just days after it was revealed that Lars Findsen, the country’s foreign intelligence chief, had been arrested for allegedly leaking “highly classified” information.
“I can confirm that I have been charged under the Criminal Code article 109 for violating the limits of my freedom of speech. I have expressed myself as a member of parliament on a political matter and I have nothing further to add at this stage,” Frederiksen wrote in the statement.
The former minister added that he would “never dream of doing anything that could harm Denmark or Denmark’s interests.”
If he’s convicted of violating this particular provision of the penal code—popularly known as the “traitor’s clause,” the same clause that the head of the Danish Defense Intelligence Service is accused of breaching—Frederiksen could face up to 12 years in prison.
Although the particulars of the case remain entirely unclear, some in the Danish press have speculated that the charges may be related to an interview that Frederiksen gave in 2020 where he appeared to confirm the existence of a highly classified spy program in which Danish authorities granted US intelligence access to data collected in Denmark for spying purposes.
In 2021, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) reported on the existence of the shady intelligence-gathering operation between the US and Denmark, alleging that from 2012 to 2014 the Danish Defense Intelligence Service (FE) had allowed the US National Security Administration (NSA) to collect data on Danish citizens and various European leaders, including former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The case against Denmark’s intelligence chief is also believed to be connected to the same spying operation.
